High court upholds impeachment of South Korean president News
High court upholds impeachment of South Korean president

South Korea’s Constitutional Court [official website] on Friday upheld parliament’s [official website] decision to impeach [JURIST report] President Park Geun-hye over a scandal related to government bribes paid by Samsung. The Court unanimously upheld the decision to impeach, the first time in South Korea’s history. Park now loses her political immunity, which leaves her open to criminal charges in the coming months. After the court decision, law requires that a new election take place in the country within 60 days. While Park has been embroiled in scandal, the country has been run by Hwang Kyo-ahn as acting President. Hwang has called for calm, yet there has been a divide among the population over the impeachment proceedings, which have left some protesters injured and killed in the past few months.

In February Samsung’s [corporate website] head Lee Jae-yong was arrested [JURIST report] on charges of bribery and undue influence in connection with the scandal. On Thursday five Samsung executives denied the charges [JURIST report] of bribery, embezzlement and corruption that were leveled against them in connection with President Park. Now that Park will not have political immunity it leaves her open to being joined in a number of lawsuits that have been leveled in connection to the scandal, which may include the indictment [JURIST report] of former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun and former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon over the coercion, abuse of power and perjury due to suppression of artists involved with the impeachment process.

THIS DAY @ LAW

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